I BROKE OUT OF AESTIVATION to watch Djinn & Miskatonic, Bangalore’s finest and only proper doom metal band, at Catatonia Fest 2014 in Thane. They’d been scheduled as the final act of the night, and with no disrespect, I wished they’d been given the opening slot, so that I could enjoy their performance while the evening was fresh and the energy levels were high, and fuck back off to the comfort of my home immediately after. But god was never on my side, as Albatross (a band I have watched way too many times) would say. I missed Gaia’s Throne, whose performance, I’m told, was fantastic. Next time, for sure! Chaos did pump some life back into the day, and their guitar levels should’ve been louder, because Nikhil Wartooth’s riffs are quite a treat, especially when the band goes all Slayer on us.

Misery loves Jayaprakash Satyamurthy and company, which is perhaps why Djinn & Miskatonic craft traditional doom metal like no other band in India. If the doomsayers from Bangalore were disappointed at the low number of people who stayed back for their set, they hid it very well, but one could tell they were drained from all the waiting. Despite their dismay, Djinn & Miskatonic treated the remaining few to songs old and new, performing like undertakers on a graveyard shift. The YouTube link below this review is for the ‘metalheads’ who ran away because it was past their bedtime; there can be no excuses for not listening to what you missed out on last night. Thane and Mumbai owe Djinn & Miskatonic an apology right now and a better slot and bigger audience next time.